before stepping down as ceo, julie fujishima has, for the first time, admitted that abuse of young boysse byjohnny kitagawa took place. i apologise to his victims from the bottom of my heart. the agency had promised to compensate the victims, some of whom had been watching. translation: | believe that | an agency that retains johnny's name should not exist. translation: she acknowledged and sincerely apologise _ for what happened, but it's not like the emotional— scars are gone. it is very difficult to overstate the clout, the power, the influence that johnny kitagawa held over japan's entertainment industry. if you were a young japanese teenager who wanted to become a pop star, who wanted to break through, his agency was your gateway. pressure grew on the agency when the allegations resurfaced earlier this year in a bbc documentary, where one of the victims — who wanted to remain anonymous — told our colleague that their career would've been harmed if they did not comply with kitagawa's sexual demands. translation: johnny told me, "go and have a bath." - johnny filled up the bath. i th

julie fujishima said she now wanted to help and care for all the victims ofjohnny kitagawa, who died organisation over more than six decades before his death. journalist mobeen azhar worked on the bbc documentary, predator: the secret scandal ofj—pop, examining that legacy and asked him about today�*s developments. it�*s absolutely not a surprise to me, having spent so much time following the story and speaking to many of the survivors of abuse. i would certainly welcome this decision and i would call it progress. it is certainly a step in the right direction. at the same time, there remains countless unanswered questions not only about the conduct ofjohnny kitagawa, who is of course now dead, but about the culture atjohnny and associates, and about the leadership there as well. as you mentioned, julie fujishima has stepped down, but a new head of the company has been announced, and there are already question marks about his qualifications and whether or not he will be able to usher in an actual culture shift in the company. i think for a lot of the survivors, there are many unanswer

julie fujishima resigned after a week of investigations founding he was abusing young boys. the world's second biggest music market, one company has dominated for decades. johnny and associates is the country's biggestj—pop star—maker, but for years rumours of sexual abuse have surrounded the founder of the all—male talent agency, the late johnny kitagawa. now a sign of respect and remorse, in a hugely significant moment. before stepping down as ceo, julie fujishima has for the first time admitted that abuse of young boys had taken place in her uncle's organisation. translation: both the agency itself - and myself as a person recognise that six abuse byjohnny kitagawa took place. i apologise to his victims from the bottom of my heart. the agency had promised to compensate the victims, some of whom had been watching. translation: | believe that | an agency that retains johnny's name should not exist. translation: she acknowledged and sincerely apologised - for what happened, but it's not like the - emotional scars have gone. it is very difficult to overstate the clout, the po

before stepping down as ceo, julie fujishima has for the first time admitted that abuse of young boysitagawa took place. i apologise to his victims from the bottom of my heart. the agency had promised to compensate the victims, some of whom had been watching. translation: | believe that | an agency that retains johnny's name should not exist. she acknowledged and sincerely apologised for what happened, i but it's not like the emotional scars have gone. _ it is very difficult to overstate the clout, the power, the influence thatjohnny kitagawa held overjapan�*s entertainment industry. if you were a young japanese teenager who wanted to become a pop star, who wanted to break through, his agency was your gateway. pressure grew on the agency when the allegations resurfaced earlier this year in a bbc documentary where one of the victims, who wanted to remain anonymous, told our colleague mobeen azhar that their career would have been harmed if they did not comply with kitagawa's sexual demands. translation: jonny told me, "go and have a bath". - johnny filled up the bath. i thought, "isn't

julie fujishima said she now wanted to help and care for all the victims ofjohnny kitagawa — who diedmen while running hisjohnny and associates organisation over more than six decades before his death. earlier we spoke to our tokyo correspondent, shaimaa khalil, who gave us the latest live in tokyo. we asked whether the resignation ofjulie fujishima is a new start for the agency. this is a hugely can significant moment forjapan�*s entertainment industry. the fallout from the sexual abuse allegations surrounding the countries most powerful talent agency has gone all the way to the top forcing the current ceo to stand down. it has been admitted that the sexual abuse of young boys had taken place at the agency. she apologised to the victims and said that the company will compensate them. she also announced her resignation. the veteran entertainer and one of the very first talents that the agency had recruited is now the new ceo. 0ne had recruited is now the new ceo. one of the most significant moments today as when the local channels cut today as when the local channels cut to pictures o

the head ofjapan�*s major male talent agency, julie fujishima, has resigned over allegations of sexuale founder. the johnny and associates founder johnny kitagawa is accused of abusing a large number of young men from the 1950s through to the 2010s. kitagawa was arguably the most influentialfigure injapan�*s entertainment industry and his agency has held a near—monopoly onjapanese boy bands for decades. he died in 2019. now, it's a big day for the vauxhall plant at ellesmere port near liverpool. today it becomes the first car factory in britain to make electric vehicles only. it's also a world first for its owner — auto giant stellantis, which also owns peugeot and citroen,as it's the company's first—ever ev—only factory. later today the first combo electric van rolls off the production line. earlier, our correspondent hannah miller was in ellesmere port and told us about the atmosphere in the factory. people here certainly very excited this morning. this is a day that many people here didn't think would come, frankly, at certain times over the last decade or so. it's been a really tur

julie fujishima said she now wanted to help and care for all the victims ofjohnny kitagawa — who dieden while running hisjohnny and associates organisation over more than six decades. journalist mobeen azhar worked on the bbc documentary predator: the secret scandal ofj—pop. just talk us through, for what people are not familiar of what is gone on here, what happened? johnny and associates _ gone on here, what happened? johnny and associates is _ gone on here, what happened? johnny and associates is a _ gone on here, what happened? johnny and associates is a super— gone on here, what happened? johnny and associates is a super successful i and associates is a super successful company, it was headed by a man called johnny kitagawa, and he had this six decade rain in the japanese entertainment industry. he is actually in the guinness world book of records —— book of world records. when he passed away a few years ago, the prime minister at the time actually sent a message of condolence, so this is someone who truly had national treasure status, but for much of his career he has been dogge

julie fujishima stepped down as the ceo.shares. she will also stay on as representative director, essentially taking care of the money, taking care of compensation for the victims. and again, many question marks on whether she's actually left the building, left the company. there's also one big thing that remains unchanged, which is the name of the company, johnny and associates. for decades, this has been a name that was synonymous with talent, with fame, withj—pop and pop culture. but now it is associated with a man and a brand that are in the midst of the worst sexual abuse scandal. and many victims and many survivors have actually commented today when they were reacting to the press conference that not only is it bad for business, it is quite insulting to the hundreds and hundreds of victims and what they went through in that talent agency. a chinese coffee chain which began selling latte drinks infused with a famous brand of chinese rice liquor has ordered an emergency restock of supplies, after an unexpected boom in sa

before stepping down as ceo, julie fujishima has for the first time admitted that abuse of young boyserson _ recognise that sex abuse byjohnny kitagawa took place. i apologise to his victims from the bottom of my heart. the agency had promised to compensate the victims, some of whom had been watching. translation: | believe that | an agency that retains johnny's name should not exist. she acknowledged and sincerely apologised for what happened, i but it's not like the emotional scars have gone. _ it is very difficult to overstate the clout, the power, the influence thatjohnny kitagawa held overjapan�*s entertainment industry. if you were a young japanese teenager who wanted to become a pop star, who wanted to break through, his agency was your gateway. pressure grew on the agency when the allegations resurfaced earlier this year in a bbc documentary where one of the victims, who wanted to remain anonymous, told our colleague mobeen azhar that their career would have been harmed if they did not comply with kitagawa's sexual demands. translation: johnny told me, "go and have a bath". -

fujishima julie is johnny kitagawa's niece. >> translator: we saw mr. kitagawa and his sister as supreme figures. looking back i'm ashamed of myself. that way of thinking contributed to the problem allowing for more victims. >> kitagawa died in 2019. he was once hailed as japan's biggest male j-pop producer. more than 20 men have accused him of sexual misconduct. last week an independent team of experts released its report on the allegations, and it concluded kitagawa repeatedly sexually abused minors represented by the agency for decades. it recommended the president be replaced to allow a new start for the agency. nine people who say they were abused by kitagawa watched the news conference together. they've been speaking out about what they allegedly suffered. >> translator: i'm glad the agency admitted what happened and apologized. a path to relief has finally opened up. >> translator: what i appreciate most is that ms. fujishima took part in the news conference. she barely looked down. she appeared to be speaking in her own words, not those from a s